Web severing device for printing presses



Feb. 4, 1958 L. c. scHuBA 2,821,914

was SEVERING DEVICE FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Nov. 30, 1954 I 3 Sheets-Sheet l Z5 5 56% 323 5 38 f I 2 7 J9 1% LJJ/ 4 {for/Z631.-

L. C. SCHUBA WEB SEVERING DEVICE FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Nov. 50, 1954 Feb. 4, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizz/272607": Zea C 56% 24.5 a. JM

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Feb. 4, 1958 L. c. SCHUBA WEB SEVERING DEVICE FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Nov. 50, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet :s

United States PatentO WEB SEVERING' DEVICE. FOR PRINTING PRESSES' Leo C. Schuba, Chicago, Ill, assiguor to Tribune Company, Chicago, 111., an corporation of Illinois Application November 30, 1954, Serial No. 471,964

7 Claims. (Cl. 101-224) unless means were provided for preventing the paper from Winding up around the cylinders and the inking rollers of the press. However, prior known devices of this character havehad certain definite faults or shortcomings, particularly from the standpoint of newspaper print.- ing, and it is thegeneral object of this invention to pro vide an improved web-severing device that is especially well suited to the conditions of use in large newspaper printing plants.

The wehis usually guided over the lead-in roller from which it passes to one of the printing couples (each of which comprises an. impression cylinder and a plate cyl inder), there being. two such couples in each standard newspaper'press unit. If the lead is always to the same printing couple, the customary type of cut-01f device, which is usually plunger-actuated and positioned to act upon thev web in one position only of the latter, may be effectively nsed to; project the knife ,or severing element into the web- However in large newspaper plants there are. times when the lead must be changed from. one printing couple to the other, which necessitates. changing the lead-in. position of the. web from one side of the guide when to. the other. Sincethe. roller is of substantial diameter, usuallyabout four inches, the distance between the two lead-in paths. oi the web is such that when the lead is changed .the customary type of .cut-olf device cannot effectively act upon the web without a corresponding change in. the position of such. device.

An important object of. my inventionis to provide a web severing device whichtisv so constructed and arranged that it will sever the web with equal efiectiveness when it. is in either of. suchlead-in positions. To this end a rotary device having twooppositely disposed cutting elements is employed, so that one of said elements traverses one of said paths andrthe other traverses the other path on. each actuation of the device A:. iurther object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which. may belocated very close to the cylinders of the press unit, Soas to leave as short a tail as possible on..the..severed web, but which will nevertheless not be in. the way oi the: pressmen while they are leading the web: through theprinting. unit preparatory to the start-up of a printing run.

These and. other objects. and; advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description and claims,-taken in connection. with the accompanying-drawings forming: a partthereof, inwhich:

Fig. .1 is a diagrammatic view of the basis: elements. of

tr-printing press unit, showing. the levice of xnyin ent o inits relationship-to the press andethe. incomingweb, the

ice

2. latter-being shown, i'n solid and dash lines, respectively, in alternative positions, and the blade of the severing de viceabeing shown in solid lines in its inactive position and in dash lines in its actuated position;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the device with the blade. in. its inactive position; Fig. 3 is; a longitudinal section through the supporting channel frame of the device taken on the line 3- -3 invF-ig. 4 and showing the rotary solenoid. and cutter blade in top plan;

Fig. 4 is a transversesection through said frame, showing said parts of the device in end elevation;

Fig, ft is a. simple wiring diagram showing the solenoids of four of the devices (being thev number that are ordinarily used in spaced relationship across the width. of the web) in the circuit that is energized in case of a paper break;

Fig. 6. is detail view, partly in section, showing the construction of the means. for limiting the stroke of the cutter blades and Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing a web break detector and its electrical connection to the cutter sole.- acids and other parts of the. press control system.

In. the illustrative embodimentof the invention so shown. in the .drawins r he pr nting p of t P e upit-areindieat n; ,1 by the reference numerals 11 nd 12srespeeti elys each couple comprising a Plate ylindex 13 and an mpression. c -nder 4 The lead-in guide roller 15 is. positioned in close. proximity to the ylind rsf. the unit, being ord n rilyd n sed lu t below the level. of the impression cylinders 14 and-intermediatev the plate. cylinders 13.

Th web 16,. hichise s ma1'i1y awn, u wardly into the press unit from. a roll carried by a reel (not shown) on a lower floor or level, is shown in solid lines in the path which it follows when it is led first into the printing con-P1 11, and, alternat e y, .v ash l n s h path which it follows when it is led first. into the printing couple 12.4 In. the one case the lead is from the leftrhand side of the roller 15:, over a segment o the circumference of said roller, thence to and between the. cylinders 13, 1.4 of the printing c uple 1 y which on s e of the. web is printed, then upwardly and over guide rollers 17 and. 18, from the latter of which it proceeds. downwardly to. and between the. cylinders of the couple 12,.by which the otherside of the web isprinted, thence-upwardly over a guide roller 19 and out of the unit in the direction of the arrow 21.

In the. other case, i. e. when thelead is first to the printing couple 12,, the web is led in at the right-hand side of the roller 15, over said roller, upwardly through the couple. 12, over the roller 18, downwardly through. the couple 11., h n p r y ov r he ol er 17 and ut of the unit in the direction of the arrow 22.

It. will be noted that the distance between the alternative lead-in positions of the web as above described is substantially equal to the diameter of the roller 15, which, as above mentioned, is normally about four inches, although of course this may vary in difierent installations.

In. accordance with my invention, a support ng fram 23, preferablyin. th form f a d nw r ly opening h nnel, is mo nted (by nys i b c m ans) immed a ly eneath the. roller 15. Positioned within this channel member and suitably attached, as by mounting elements 24, area plurality of rotary solenoids 25.

Each of said solenoids hasan armature shaft 26 depending therefrom and carrying at its lower end a cutter blade 27 having a sleeve portion 28 which is attached to the shaft. Said sleeve portion 28 carries a stop plate 29 having inclined grooves 31 therein. Oppositely inclined grooves 32 are formed in the bottom of the housing of the solenoid 25 above the grooves 31 in in said plate 29. Balls 30 are disposed in said opposed grooves 31 and 32, which thus provide a ball race. When the solenoid is energized the armature shaft 26 is rotated in a clockwise direction (viewing Fig. 2) and this causes rotary movement of the plate 29 to the extent permitted by the inclined grooves 31 and 32, said plate 29 rising toward the solenoid housing during such rotary movement. Such rotary movement swings the cutter member 27 in an arc of a length (preferably about 90") which is approximately the sum of the lengths of the two grooves 31 and 32. A spring 40 secured at one end to the shaft 26 and at the other to a fixed point on the solenoid housing holds the parts normally in the position shown in Figs. 2-4 of the drawings.

A bottom plate 33 is supported in Z-shaped flanges 34 on the lower edges of the channel member 23 to provide an enclosure for the solenoid and the ball race above described.

Said blade 27 has knives or cutting elements 35 on the opposite ends thereof, said elements being oppositely disposed as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

There are preferably four of said rotary solenoid actuated devices in each frame, the same being spaced across the width of the web.

The cutter operating solenoids 25 are shown diagrammatically in Figs. and 7 as connected by leads 36 and 37 to wires 38 and 39, respectively, forming a part of a circuit in which a switch 41 is also included, said switch being operable by action of a paper break detector 42. Said detector is pivotally mounted in conventional manner and includes a paddle 43 riding on a portion of the web 44 which passes around guide rollers 45 on its way to the press unit. A cam 46 is mounted on a pivot pin or rod 47 in such manner that when the detector moves downwardly in the direction of the arrow in case of a web break, the cam will act upon a cam follower 48 to close the switch 41.

One side of said switch 41 is connected through wire 49 and a manually operable detector cut-out switch 51 with one of the wires of a circuit 52, 53 leading to the press control board (not shown). The other side of said switch 41 is connected by a wire 54 to a unit relay 55. A master relay 56, in series with said unit relay, is controlled by a drum switch generally indicated at 57. It will be understood that when the press attains a predetermined speed, said master relay will be operated by the closing of the switch 57 by the associated drum cam 58. With the master relay switch 59 closed, the unit relay switch 61 will be closed when the switch 41 is closed in case of a web break.- This will activate a press stop circuit 62, 63 and energize the cutter solenoids 25.

When the solenoids 25 are energized the cutter blades 27 will be actuated with a rotary motion, causing one end thereof to traverse the path of the web in one of the leadin positions thereof and the other end to traverse its path in the other lead-in position, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus the web will be effectively severed regardless of whether it is led into the press unit from one side or the other of the roller 15. It is therefore unnecessary to change the position of the cut-off devices when the web lead is changed from one couple to the other, or to provide separate devices for each lead-in position of the web, and the devices function in case of a paper break to sever the web as close as possible to the press units under all conditions of operation of modern presses in large newspaper printing plants where speed is a prime consideration.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A web severing device for standard newspaper print- I ing presses havingtwo adjacent printing couples and a lead-in guide roller for directing the web to either one or the other of said couples, the web being led to one side of said roller in the one case and to the other side thereof in the other, said device comprising, in combination with an electric control circuit for the press having a web break detector therein, a supporting frame immediately beneath said roller, a rotary sheet cutter carried by said frame and having an axis between said two Web paths whereby it will traverse each thereof on each operation of the device, means for actuating said cutter, and means for electrically connecting said web break detector circuit with said cutter actuating means whereby said cutter is operated through action of said detector in consequence of a web break.

2. A web severing device for standard newspaper printing presses having two adjacent printing couples and a lead-in guide roller for directing the web to either one or the other of said couples, the web being led to one side of said roller in the one case and to the other side thereof in the other, said device comprising, in combination with an electric control circuit for the press having a web break detector therein, a supporting frame immediately beneath said roller, a plurality of rotary sheet cutters carried by said frame and being spaced across the width of the web, the same being arranged to traverse each of said web paths upon each operation of the device, means for actuating said cutters, and means for electrically connecting said web break detector circuit with said cutter actuating means whereby said cutters are operated through action of said detector in consequence of a web break.

3. A web severing device for standard newspaper printing presses having two adjacent printing couples and a lead-in guide roller for directing the web to either one or the other of said couples, the web being led to one side of said roller in the one case and to the other side thereof in the other, said device comprising, in combination with an electric control circuit for the press having a web break detector therein, a supporting frame immediately beneath said roller, a rotary blade carried by said frame, said blade having an axis betwen said two web paths and having oppositely disposed cutting elements thereon, said blade having a stroke in which it traverses each of said lead-in positions whereby one of said elements will sever the web if it is in one of said positions and the other will sever it if it is in theother of said positions, means operable through action of said detector for actuating said blade, and means for electrically connecting said web break detector circuit with said blade actuating means whereby said blade is operated in consequence of a web break.

4. A web severing device for standard newspaper printing presses having two adjacent printing couples and a lead-in guide roller for directing the web to either one or the other of said couples, the web being led to one side of said roller in the one case and to the other side thereof in the other, said device comprising in combination with an electric control circuit for the press having a web break detector therein, a supporting frame immediately beneath said roller, a rotary blade carried by said frame and having an axis betwen said two web paths, said blade having a stroke in which it traverses each of said lead-in positions, a rotary solenoid operable through action of said detector for actuating said blade, and circuitry for electrically connecting said web detector circuit with said solenoid whereby'said blade is operated in consequence of a web break.

5. A web severing device for standard newspaper printing presses having two adjacent printing couples and a lead-in guide roller for directing the web to either one or the other of said couples, the web being led to one side of said roller in the one case and to the other side thereof in the other, said device comprising, in combination with anelectric control circuit for the press havinga web break detector therein, a supporting frame immediately beneath said roller, a plurality of rotary blades carried by said frame and each having an axis between said two web paths, said blades each having a stroke in which it traverses each of said lead-in positions, a plurality of rotary solenoids, one for each of said blades, operable through action of said detector for actuating said blades, and circuitry for electrically connecting said web detector circuit with said solenoid whereby said blades are operated in consequence of a web break.

6. A web severing device for standard newspaper printing presses having two adjacent printing couples and a lead-in guide roller for directing the web to either one or the other of said couples, the web being led to one side of said roller in the one case and to the other side thereof in the other, said device comprising, in combination with an electric control circuit for the press having a web break detector therein, a supporting frame of channel formation immediately beneath said roller, a rotary blade carried by said frame and having an axis between said two web paths, said blade having a stroke in which it traverses each of said lead-in positions, a rotary solenoid positioned in the channel of said frame and operatively connected with said blade, said solenoid being operable through action of said detector for actuating the blade, and circuitry for electrically connecting said web detector circuit with said solenoid whereby said blade is operated in consequence of a web break.

7. A web severing device for standard newspaper printing presses having two adjacent printing couples and a lead-in guide roller for directing the web to either one or the other of said couples, the web being led to one side of said roller in the one case and to the other side thereof in the other, said device comprising a supporting frame, a rotary blade carried by said frame and having an axis between said two web paths, said blade having a cuttting element formed and arranged to traverse one of said lead-in positions and another cutting element formed and arranged to traverse the other of said positions upon each operation of the device, means operable through action of said detector for actuating said blade, and means for electrically connecting said web break detector circuit with said blade actuating means whereby said blade is operated in consequence of a web break.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,901,075 Bechman Mar. 14, 1933 2,029,726 Laabs Feb. 4, 1936 2,122,796 Horton July 5, 1938 2,206,841 Horton July 2, 1940 

